Empire (Original)
by Leonardo DiCaprio
Summary: Leviathan continued. The story didn't end after the kiss. Alek was made for so much more than he anticipated...you get the idea. AlekxDeryn...duh. It wouldn't be Leviathan if it wasn't AlekxDeryn
1. Chapter 1

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

This is my idea what would happen after Goliath's conclusion. Alek, Deryn and Volger join the Zoological society of London. I was inspired to write this story for my friend at school who is responsible for getting me involved in the series. Her birthday's coming up, so i'm giving her a copy of this story as a gift. I hope you all enjoy it as much as she does. thank you for reading and don't forget to review!

"It's a big black building, you can't miss it." Dr. Barlow was driving. Count Volger sat in the front passenger seat tightening his crisp tie. Out of the rear view mirror, he gained sight of the important lad and lass who sat in the rear. Volger shifted out of pure nerve. He wasn't nervous, but he knew _they_ were.

Alek and Deryn sat in the back of the old brown vehicle. The loud engine was sputtering and the air was nippy through the open windows. Alek glanced at his long-time companion and fellow hero, Deryn and she gazed back into her eyes. Neither of them knew what to expect. They had naught but the dusty metallic clothes on their backs, worn and torn by age and tasks that should not have been put on their shoulders at only the austere age of sixteen.

Deryn scanned the area they were passing. She'd never seen a view quite like this before. London. A Darwinist country on a large Darwinist isle.

Ever since the Goliath had been destroyed, the biggest climax of the war was over, or so Volger had explained. Alek was glad at that. The worst of it was exaggerated through the twisted words of reporters, such as Eddie Malone and Adela Rodgers. It's funny how two people can make thousands of dollars all just for making up a story and invading where their prying eyes were not welcome.

For the past three weeks, Alek had been able to avoid publicity. While he sat around all calm and confident, there was not a moment of time where Deryn did not worry about where and when that ghastly bum-rag Eddie Malone would care to let her secret spill out.

Alek had reassured her that even if the world knew now, that nobody would be able to find her now that she was going where she was going…the Zoological Society of London.

"We're almost here." Barlow's lightly accented voice pulled Deryn out of her daydream.

"Barking spiders!" Deryn pressed her hands against the window of the car and slipped her head through. "It's magnificent!"

"Sure is." Alek said slowly. Next to him on the spare seat sat Tazza and Bovril—sleeping comfortably in their fur. They woke up with all of the commotion.

"Magnificent." Bovril said.

The building was made of black glass on the front—pure and sheer. The rest of the walls were rusty iron gears disguised by metallic black paint. The purpose of this ruse was for the building to appear fine and posh. However, the inside was quite contrary.

Alek and Deryn followed the lady boffin through the doors. She had to enter a special combination. Alek slipped Bovril into his pocket where he could be more comfortable. Deryn kept Tazza close by and received weird looks from the people. Dr. Barlow tipped her bowler hat at some young men at a station.

There were several stations like this. This particular room was filled with several stations like this one, each with several men operating from behind a tall counter. It reminded Alek of an old-time bank. Cold and humorless. Colorless.

Silent except for the mysterious whispers of passing workers bored with their job and ready to move on with their lives. All was new. All was different. And all had a British accent. They were men in suits, dressed slightly more formal than your average working man. Most of them had mustaches, spectacles or both. Their hair was dark and slicked back with oil.

Volger blended right in.

Alek was casually scanning the room and one of the men met his gaze. Alek expected the man to be cold and mysterious, but surprisingly he was a rather welcoming fellow. He tipped his hat to the lady boffin as she walked past. She returned his respect with a nod, which Alek and Deryn imitated.

The three of them passed an archway into a short hallway behind the scenes. The stairs were wooden, but the floor was made of steel. Barlow's heels clanked loudly as she walked down. Deryn had an uncertainty in her step. She was smart to be wary.

"How many flights of barking stairs before we reach the bottom?" Deryn swore loudly. Alek put his finger to his lips to try and hush her.

Barlow only chuckled. Bovril chuckled too. Tazza was panting.

They must have downed three hundred stairs before Dr. Barlow pulled them off to the side. It was almost as if she picked a door at random. There were many doors at the end of each staircase flight. In other words, the Zoological Society of London was barking _huge_. Huge enough to store a lot of maps and knowledge and most likely a staff of a thousand members. It had crossed Alek's mind once or twice that this place might be a secret hideaway for those seeking refuge, as well as a hideaway for other things as well. The place was definitely big enough to store beasties of any size. Naturally, the staircase continued on downward for several stories. Possibly ten or more.

Deryn wondered if there might be weapons abroad.

The lady boffin ended the suspense for the moment by opening the chestnut door. She closed it once they were inside. Volger followed Barlow as if he was her personal assistant, almost as if he was familiar to this place.

Alek and Deryn stood side by side in a large office. The floor was dark wood and in the center of the room was a tapestry for a rug. Various sitting chairs were scattered about the room. Alek decided that their purpose was mostly for decoration and not actual use. There was a brick fireplace at the short ends of the long, rectangular room.

The wallpaper was branded with a plain pattern and one side was entirely made of wooden board. In the far side of the room, paintings decorated the wall. There was a line. At the very end of the line hung a picture of young Nora Barlow in one of her better dresses. Deryn suspected that those faces must have belonged to previous owners, rulers or cabinet members of the Zoological Society.

In the center of the room sat the most important piece of furniture—one great long mahogany desk with a shiny surface covered in scattered papers, folders and various candlelight lamps. Six men and two women sat abroad, cycling and shifting through the papers and seeming to ignore their guests.

Dr. Barlow put her hands on her hips and cleared her throat. Immediately, the secretarial group looked up, stacked their papers, and shifted their shoulders so that they were sitting up just right. "Everything seems to be in proper order, I suppose?" The lady boffin raised one eyebrow and she could tell that they had been slacking off.

"Yes ma'am." One of the men answered. His accent was Scottish, thicker than Deryn's.

Dr. Barlow nodded and approached one of the women. "Draw up the papers, if you would, for two more…" Barlow's voice drifted to an unclear whisper that neither Deryn nor Alek could make out.

The two of them just stood there with their feet stuck in one position on the ground. It was Tazza and Bovril who were making all the noise. Tazza lingered about and proudly pranced across the room to get a better view of it though all the while Deryn was calling it back to her. Bovril became more comfortable with his surroundings and climbed onto Alek's shoulder.

"Drawing a conclusion." Bovril said.

Alek's head snapped to his pet and he whispered to him, "What conclusion?" Deryn hushed them.

The lady boffin approached with a pleasant smile. Her eyes were half-closed, probably due to tiredness, disappointment, or worry. The perspicacious woman said, "We have room for two more. That is, if you'd like to live here."

"I have no other home." Alek said somberly.

"And I've got no proper place to stay either." Deryn looked up.

"_Proper_." Bovril said.

"I'll just," Barlow opened the doorway out of the office, "Show you to your new home then." The troop marched back onto the oddly-constructed wooden staircase. Up two flights until they reached the destination. The lady boffin held the door open for them and let them pass, careful to shut the door afterwards. They faced a long, narrow gray hall. These new doors were stiff and cheap, made from paler wood. There must have been a hundred of them down this one hall alone and God knows how many doors down the detours. They walked all the way down to the very end of the hall. Two rooms that happened to be vacant were presented to Alek and Deryn.

Barlow pointed to a room in a side-hall where Volger could make his home.

The number was on the dull bronze knob. "3467." Alek read aloud.

"3469." Deryn said.

"They're yours to stay in for as long as you like. And if you provide a service to the Society, you may start to earn money and upgrade your items. But for now, that's all we've got. During the war, we had to split rations among many." The lady boffin explained. "They're not locked. Go ahead."

At the same time, they opened their doors. Alek surveyed the room upon proceeding. Deryn was the first to enter. Though the rooms were identical, the two of them had different expectations laid out in their minds. Alek, for one, was relieved at the moment to have a permanent residence. Deryn was somewhat disappointed, but she had become accustomed to that.

The room was only about twelve by twenty feet. It had one small closet, as well as a small metal bed with a nightstand and a lamp. On one end of the wall was a desk with a single chair. Leaning against the wall was a short bookcase with some random literature as well as a Bible and a book on the history of the Zoological society. Underneath the desk was a small parchment set aside for trash and other waste. The walls were faded blue in color. The floors were a greenish-tinted wood. It was so old it looked odd.

"Thank you for your kindness." Alek told Barlow. There was a certain sense of earnesty in his voice, one he had not been born with but had learned along the way.

The lady boffin gave him a respectful bow.

"Kindness." Bovril said.

Deryn sighed. "Yes, thank you." She told Barlow in a rush. Tazza had already taken upon itself to make the bed its home.

The lady boffin started to walk away. It was Alek that chased after her. "To what _services_ were you referring to?"

She turned around with a smile. "I'm glad you asked." She spoke with an upward tone as if she didn't expect one of them to go on asking. "We here have been working on new machines for quite some time."

"Clanker or Darwinist?"

"None of that matters here. The machines are neutral. They were made in the name of scientific advancement and are by _no means_ to be used in the affairs of war. That all was kept secret here. It's confidential. Any information you learn here does not leave these walls. You understand?"

Alek nodded.

"Good. What sort of job would you be interested in? There are many, I can assure you."

"Mechanics might interest me."

"Come."

Alek followed her down more stairs. They cycled down to the bottom. Alek's thighs were throbbing.

Back up, Deryn had finally made a deal with Tazza that it could take rest on the shelf in the closet instead of the bed. Deryn stepped outside and was surprised to discover that the only two allies she had in this place had vanished. "Blisters!" She crossed her arms and stomped her foot.

A door opened and Deryn looked both directions. She saw no change in the hall until someone rounded the corner. That face was unforgettable—and that dress with the hat and one purple feather sticking up. "Deryn Sharp!" Footsteps rushed.

"Lilit." Deryn said flatly. Her acquaintance threw her arms around her neck. Deryn did not hug back, but did not push away either.

Lilit was smiling. "Why, what are you—" She scanned Deryn head to toe, "You look absolutely awful wearing this tattered old thing!"

Deryn looked down. She hadn't noticed all the scraps missing from her midshipman's uniform. The pants were primarily stained near the bottom. The color had begun to wear away some time ago. "What exactly are you doing here, Lilit?"

"I'm a member. This Society's peacemaking diplomacy stretches to every country ample enough to represent. They said that I'm sufficient enough."

"Oh."

"And now that _you're_ here, I'll have somebody I can talk to." Lilit once again hugged Deryn in a melodramatic fashion, and then pulled away. She patted her hands to rid herself of the dust from Deryn's clothes. "First thing's first. _You_ have to find some better clothes."

"What I'm wearing will be sufficient enough! If you even think that for one moment you can take it upon yourself to stuff me into a corset, that's all a load of clart."

Lilit ignored Deryn's comment and took her by the wrist and brought her into her room. Lilit's room had a flowery lavender wallpaper and a rug to warm the cold floor. Her bed sheets were nicer, and her closet was filled with all kinds of clothes from every day wear to underwear to a few formal gowns and corsets. Not to mention the fact that the room itself was twice as large as Deryn's, and there was a mirror attached to the wall, and a dresser devoted to shoes and accessories lie at the bedstead. The room smelt like light, polished perfume. That was the way Lilit liked it.

"You live here? I thought you were perfectly well off living in America…"

Lilit shuffled through her closet in desperate search for something that Deryn could wear. Deryn was taller than Lilit. Deryn was thinner too, and did not have a figure quite defined as Lilit. "Of _course_ I have multiple places to stay, if my duty calls for it. I like it here. Although, I've not proven to be much of a contribution. I come and go between here and America. Mostly, I just sit in for the meetings and relay to Agha what is going on. There hasn't been much to say. But you, you I'd expect to take an interest in the advanced zeppelins and I'm surprised you're not there right now."

"Zeppelins?" Deryn's eyes widened at the thought of flying again. After all this clart, it remains her calling in life.

"Yes, yes, they've got dozens of them. Each unique. They may or may not be flight capable. They're all just experiments. Pure fragmentations from your lady boffin's imagination…"

"Can you show me where they are?" Deryn interrupted.

Lilit whipped around, curls landing in every direction. "Not in _that_, Miss Sharp." Lilit said sternly. "Nobody gets what they want more often than a properly-fitted little lady." Lilit said with confidence. "Here, you can wear this." Lilit handed Deryn a casual dress. It was plain, simple and the color of dusk.

Without even giving the matter two seconds of thought, Deryn refused.

"Have it your way then." Lilit gracefully put back all the dresses where they belonged, in their exact order in the closet. She took Deryn by the wrist again and pulled her through the hall and down the stairs.

"Where exactly are we going, you daft girl?"

Lilit smiled. She admired Deryn's quickness in getting to the point. "To the very bottom, of course. Where else would they store all the flying machines?"

"You're making mad sense, here! Are there really any flying devices, or are you just winding me up?"

Lilit laughed. The two of them had to scale through a few doors and passageways once they reached the bottom. Clearly presented and framed through an archway were many different zeppelin-like machines, each grounded at a station. The room was huge. The ceiling stretched high—probably to the top of the earth.

The zeppelins were fastened to the wall, each by its own means. Most were under construction. Some were not even complete. They had gears of unusual size. The engines were all visible. The rears were piloted by some sort of miniature launcher made of rusty old scrap metal barley held together by welding.

"If you ever hope to fly in one of those, you're going to have to wait a few more decades." Lilit leaned in to whisper into Deryn's ear. "All those who've worked on them have gone mad. The head boffins are postponing their operations for now."

"Haven't they got any Huxleys?" Deryn asked. She was still trying to take in all that she saw. She couldn't believe her eyes how big it all was.

"Sure, sure. They've got it all down here. Gotta go to the bottom to get to the top. That's what the boffins always tell the newcomers. If you can figure out the riddle, they'll give you a special reward."

Deryn was only half-listening. Entranced, she reached out to climb aboard the railing of one of the zeppelins. Distraught, Lilit slapped Deryn's wrist.

"You might wind up destroying one. Nobody I know is sure how they work exactly. They're neither Clanker nor Darwinist, so they've got unique electrical and mechanical abilities. No one is the same, either."

Deryn glared at the girl. "_Obviously_ the riddle refers to flying up through the top of this room."

Lilit and Deryn both looked upward simultaneously. "But that's just it. The exit's been sealed off for three years. Nothing else can get in, or _out_."

"So…what's the point of having zeppelins of they're not going to be used."

Lilit shrugged her shoulders. She did it gracefully, if that was even possible. It was like her to move gracefully even in the most tense of situations.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Sharp."

Lilit and Deryn turned around to see Dr. Barlow with Alek trailing in the rear. "Hello. I hope you don't mind me showing Deryn around."

"Of course not." The lady boffin said quickly. She looked at Deryn with interest. "It was only a short matter of time before you learned about these. You'll want to work on them, I'm sure?"

Deryn nodded excitedly.

Alek parted from the women to leave this room to go to the one next door.

"What else is here? Huxleys, weapons, other beasts? Any other big surprises I should know about?" Deryn asked the lady boffin.

"Huxleys? Yes. They're in a few rooms over. Weapons? No. But I won't be surprised if you find yourself a few beasties within the Society. After all, it is our cover job to make sure they're safe and well-cared for. The majority of the dangerous ones can be found on the surface floor, however, I'd urge you not to go _there_." The lady boffin nodded respectfully to them. "Good afternoon, Deryn. Lilit." With that, she parted from them.

Lilit fixed her eyes back on her reluctant comrade. "Well?"

"Well, what, you daft girl?" Deryn crossed her arms at Lilit's unwavering stare.

"Aren't you going to do something? It's not like you to just sit back and watch. You've just got that instinctive sense to be the hero."

"My brother Jaspert called it "air sense". And no, I'm _not_ just going to sit back and watch those zeppelins rot. That's a load of clart. I'm going to be the pilot of one someday."

Lilit smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

Here's part two. Alek has some things to sort out…

For the next two months, Alek was working under the strong hand of the boffin-in-charge of mechanics. Alek had shared with them his knowledge of walkers and the Goliath. Most of which, they already knew. Alek had also gotten into the habit of sitting in on the boffin meetings and hearing of their dangerous rescue missions in the name of peace. Bovril sat on his shoulder. Every so often, a new suffragette would occupy a new room in the hall of dormitories. Alek became enthralled in the tales of peril, tragedy, and great gain in respect of honor and justice from the countries.

Deryn's working schedule consisted of main daylight hours, mostly in the afternoon. Alek's working schedule began at early evening and ended near midnight. Alek saw his friend Deryn at meals and such, but other than that, he had begun to make other friends and so did she.

If they happened to cross paths in the hall or at their rooms, they would bow to each other and she would say, "How are you today, your Princeliness?" Though he was no longer a prince.

He would reply, "G'day, Middy." Though she was no longer a midshipman. It was like a game to them.

"Middy Sharp." Bovril said.

Nobody abroad questioned Deryn's gender—that she was entirely a female. She still wore boy clothes, though, but she had allowed her hair to grow past her shoulders. It was a dusty blond and it was straight—not very flattering, but it was hers.

Deryn spent most of the day working with those trying to configure the zeppelins. Her vast knowledge of the zeppelins she used to work with proved quite helpful in the run of things. If Deryn wasn't manually working on the zeppelins, she was aboveground running errands for the Society and purchasing tools and parts for the zeppelins. There were only two Huxleys down below and they were very old. Other members of the zeppelin crew had led Deryn to believe those Huxleys could no longer fly.

Every day, it seemed, Deryn would remind the lady boffin that she wanted to fly.

"We're going to reopen the exit."

"When?"

"Soon."

Deryn and Barlow had the same exchange of words too often.

One evening when Deryn was just getting off work, Lilit marched down the staircase and placed a newspaper into Deryn's dirty hands. "What's this for? Can't you see I'm sort of busy—"

"I can see that, but this'll be worth it. Read it." That was typical of Lilit not to let Deryn even finish her outspurt.

Deryn's eyes widened.

"The headline…"

"I can see that. Is Austria barking _mad_?" Deryn's voice was angry and irritated at the same time.

Alek came running over to the girls with a copy of the very same newspaper. He was very much out of breath. He'd probably hopped quite a few rooms to get here. He was huffing so hard he couldn't speak. Bovril curled around Alek's shoulder.

Deryn pressed the front page of the _New York World_ to Alek's forehead. "Empress Janika Farahilde Viveka Rescues Collapsing Austria."

"Empress." Bovril said.

"She's claiming to be the daughter of the late Emperor Franz-Joseph's _dead_ child." Lilit said, mocking the story. "I've spent the last month in America while the Ambassador Agha discusses the news with his acquaintances."

"That's a load of clart! Who would believe she's the daughter of a child the world never knew about?" Deryn established the obvious fact that she was lying.

"I didn't even know the Emperor had passed." Alek said quietly.

"He chose her as his heir, since you weren't around." Lilit pointed at Alek, who felt singled out and responsible.

Deryn read the article further.

"And this isn't even the worst part." Lilit announced. Alek's frightened eyes grew wider and his lip was quivering. "Her Highness wishes to come here to seek protection from our agents."

"The worst." Bovril said.

"Protection? From what? Like she's got any barking problems to worry on—"

"Disbelievers are threatening to kill her. The reporters are hovering over her. And as a peaceful society, we _must_ comply if a cry for help is ousted." Lilit explained. "You've got two days to prepare before Her Highness knocks on our doorstep."

"Two days?" Deryn gasped.

Bovril chuckled at the distraught trio. Alek walked away in a hustle.

"He _seems_ mad enough." Lilit noticed.

Deryn looked confused.

"What? Can't you tell he wishes he'd taken the job after all? I don't even know him as well as you do, but I'm sure he feels regret and remorse. You two need to have a chat." Lilit walked away.

That left Deryn. She knew the way to Alek's door. It was the one right next to hers. She slowly knocked. She turned the knob and the door happened to be open. She stepped inside and closed the door softly.

Alek was lying on his stomach on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"You mad?" She asked. "Lilit said so but you know I'm not going to believe it until I hear those words come from you. The daft Empress is lying and I don't believe her clart for one moment. How about you?" Deryn was trying to coax him into talking but he said naught. "Do you _regret_ something?"

"Yes." He said flatly.

"Choosing me over…Providence?"

"No." He said in the same dead tone. He sat up. "I need you, Deryn."

"I need you too." She took a few footsteps closer.

"No matter what choice I make, it always goes back to the same feeling in my throat and the same aching in my stomach. Every time I make a decision it turns out half-right and half-wrong."

Bovril awoke from the nap he had been taking on the bed. "Right and wrong." Bovril said.

Deryn shrugged. "To me, you seem pretty barking happy here."

"I am. Or, at the very least, I thought I was. But isn't it possible I'd have been a squick happier as Emperor?"

"Blisters, Alek, I thought you stopped fretting about that months ago! And now you're pouting around just because some cheeky common lass found herself in the Empress seat?"

Alek was silent.

"Don't be daft. Just be careful. When that sod comes here, I'll—"

"Don't do anything, Deryn. Let me handle it."

Deryn turned right around and marched out, leaving Alek to the raw imagination of his mind. As he slowly fell into a sleep, visions and memories scampered through his head and they all mixed together in a nightmare.

The nightmare was about to become frighteningly real.

"_Good afternoon." _

Alek could hear the faded voices of people passing by his room. The walls were thin and completely rotten in some spots. There was a great commotion outside which was Alek's awakening. Afternoon? He'd slept right through the morning. The sleepy lad rubbed his eyes and put on a change of clothes—one of the many outfits he'd bought in London when he had free time.

Bovril climbed up on the boy's shoulder, with perky eyes ready to witness adventure. Alek shuffled slowly through the hall. The resident people shuffled about in a hurried and curt manner. All their words were hushed. If one spoke out of turn, then they were looked down upon by the rest.

Alek's vision was hazy and all seemed to be confusion, though it was only him. He happened to wander past a large room where he heard the sounds of a feast. Chomping mouths scarfing down food rudely and ungratefully. Without thinking, Alek opened the door. It opened with a _clank-creak_, louder than he'd expected.

Alek was frightened. Before him was one long table where sat all the head boffins, including Dr. Barlow. Lilit was sitting next to her ambassador Agha. Both of them were equally surprised to see Alek there. At the head of the table sat a beautiful young lady in a pink dress and a fluffy expensive hat. Her makeup flattered her little face perfectly. Her hair was the color of honey. Her lips were the color of perfect roses. Her eyes were brown, the deep sort. They were cunning, patient, and _unforgiving_.

She must be the Empress, Alek thought.

Alek didn't know what to do. He felt his fingers and cheeks going numb and he was about to explode. Everybody had stopped the feast to take notice of him.

"Well don't just stand there, lad." The Empress spoke. Her words pierced the silence. "_Who_ are you and _what_ are you?"

Alek forced himself to bow in the way he had been taught. "I'm Prin—Aleksander. _Aleksander_. Or, Alek, as I prefer."

"Who are _you_?" Bovril repeated.

The Empress shrieked at the sight of the creature and right about jumped out of her chair. Alek gasped. The boffins glared at him. Alek tried to move but his entire body was frozen. Barlow seemed the most irritated. If the Empress changed her opinion of the Society, it was all Alek's fault. Alek's face was sweating.

Somebody swooped in through the door and pulled Alek out.

"Whew!" He turned around to the face of Count Volger, angry.

"Well you ought to be daft enough to sleep in all day, but I'd never thought you for the sort who interrupts very important meetings." Volger shook his head. Disapproval. "Shame on you, lad!"

Alek glowered. "It was an accident, Count."

"Empress Janika Farahilde Viveka of Austria-Hungary has no idea you exist. And for the sake of Austria, the Zoological Society of London, and your life, it'll be best if you keep it that way." Volger walked away, hands behind his back and hat upon his head.

Alek needed to tell Deryn.

Generally, at this hour she was climbing the ropes of the communal relays and fixing the ever-appearing problems. The communal relays were thousands of electrical wires fastened to the ceilings of each room. There were holes in the very tops of the walls for them to sift through. Countless electrical communicational messages were relayed every day. The topics were mostly of secret matters. Deryn was good at fixing them, so they assigned her the job. She'd learned to enjoy it. Alek knew that Deryn's station was at the base. The base was on the third floor from the earth. Alek had to tread up several staircases, but his calves had gotten used to it by now.

There Deryn was. The girl was somehow able to separate the bad wires from the good. To Alek, it was all one big electrical jungle—deadly if he touched the wrong combination of wires.

Deryn excused herself from the working crew the moment she saw her red-haired friend standing near. "Good afternoon, your Princeliness." She said quietly.

"Middy, I've some bad news to tell you. The Empress—"

"She's here, I know, and that bun-rag Eddie Malone is her reason for wanting to go into hiding. What a prissy little sod. Who's afraid of a little good publicity?"

"We need to sneak into the feast. I have to know how she fooled the royal embassy."

"What? You daft boy! We'll never get in there without a proper invitation! The boffins fixed her a barking _feast_ to bribe her to keep this place a secret! It's hardly on honest terms that she's here!"

"We'll have to go and you know it. Admit it, Deryn, I'm right. Why's that so hard to do."

Deryn growled. She let Alek take her by the hand and tow her to the room. They had to be quiet. They each pressed an ear against the door, but could not hear a word.

"The moment you walk in there, those sods will try to cram all sorts of barking nonsense into your attic and you can't let yourself believe a word." Deryn instructed.

Alek nodded.

Deryn took a chance and opened the door in a bold fashion. Alek became frightened again. Deryn's eyes caught on the face of Lilit, and they exchanged a subtle nod. With composure and elegance, Lilit stood to her feet and got the attention of the whole barking room just by snapping her little fingers. "Gentlemen and gentlewomen, might I present to you: former Midshipman Sharp and Mr. Alek? Both have served bravely on the Leviathan and are respected heroes up yonder. The whole of London would recognize their names like _that_." Lilit snapped her fingers once more.

The room clapped out of respect, all except little miss Empress Janika. "Take seats." The Empress waved to the seats on either side of her. Two of the head boffins were sitting there and they stood up. One for Alek and one for Deryn. The young woman's eyes closed in on the lad and lass. "_Heroes_? I'll be the judge of that."

The Empress studied Deryn first. With a light scoff, Janika had already concocted her opinion of the tall thin girl wearing lad's clothes.

Alek's humble way of seating himself caught Janika's eye. While the rest of the room was feasting, including hungry Deryn, Alek waited to be asked to eat. This pleased the Empress. Even more appealing was the proud way he ate. He was not going to overindulge himself like his companion the Scottish girl.

"You're quite posh for a common refugee." The Empress said to Alek. Alek wanted to argue the fact that he was not just a common lad. He still hadn't gotten used to the unwavering thought that he was, now, officially and completely ordinary. He nodded to Janika out of pure relevance for the sake of keeping peace at the table.

"Common." Bovril said.

"What is that?" The Empress asked.

"It's a loris." Alek picked up Bovril and put him near the young woman's face. She tried to back away as much as she could. "Wanna hold him?"

"Put it…away…while you're eating, lad." Janika was trying to keep her cool.

Bovril crawled into Alek's pocket and took a nap. Alek resumed eating.

Lilit's idea of making conversation was telling very dry jokes. Everyone pretended to laugh because they wanted to show off their excellent display of manners to the Empress.

After everybody had finished pigging out, they all stood up. Dr. Barlow and Empress Janika shook hands. "Thank you for your hospitality." Janika said. Though she tried to sound humble, her sentence always ended with a proud tone.

"How is Austria-Hungary?" Alek asked the Empress after most of the boffins had left. Deryn decided to browse the desert buffet so that she could eat more _and_ listen in on the very important ruler-talk.

Lilt stayed in the room as well.

"Young man, my country is doing very well. Not that it's any of your concern, being just a common _Darwinist_ boy."

_She's prejudiced_, Alek realized. "I'm not Darwinist or Clanker. I'm neither, or both. I don't know exactly."

Janika "Tsk-ed" many times. "It's not right for one of the servants in this Society to not know what he's doing. As a commoner, you were born to work all your life. _That's_ where you belong."

Alek was mad, so was Deryn. Lilit distracted Deryn with more food so she would keep quiet. Alek, however, could not hold his tongue. As the Empress was gliding to the door, he spoke boldly, "I'm not just a common boy!"

She turned around with a strange smirk. "Yes, I can tell. Your accent is showing through. And your use of the English language is impressive, but that's hardly grounds for being more than an average worker." She stepped closer to him. "However, I admire your straightforwardness. Maybe we can be," She took his hand, "Friends?"

Out of pure fear, Alek nodded slightly.

Deryn, still sitting at the table, loudly jabbed her fork into her slice of lemon tart. Lilit cackled. Janika and Alek were distracted by this.

"Good afternoon." Janika bid to Alek as she left the room.

The moment the Empress closed the door, Deryn shot up. "I've had it with that barking sod pushing us all around!"

Alek slumped down in a chair. He really needed advice right about now. He needed someone who'd had life experience with women. Volger? Maybe. Volger was Alek's only chance of figuring out what's right and wrong in this world. With Lilit's laughing and Deryn swearing every fourth word, Alek realized he was deep into a very big mess. He convinced himself that he was the only one who could fix it.

He had to prove himself. Off to his bedroom he went. He lay there flat on his back for an hour trying to figure out what to do. The room had never smelt so strongly of rotten wood. In all that time, he'd come up with nothing save all the theories on how this could get a whole lot worse.

Alek knocked at Volger's door. The man was combing his hair. "Alek?"

Alek stepped inside. "Volger, I'm afraid I need a bit of advice."

"It's about _time_ you came. If this is about Dr. Barlow, then you can forget it."

"No, not about her." Alek sat down in the chair. "It's about Janika. Empress Janika. She's a total—as Deryn would put it—a load of clart."

Volger rolled his eyes.

Seeing that Volger didn't believe him, Alek stood up. "She was making a pass at me, I swear!"

"She's probably trying to make as many allies as she can while she's here. I wouldn't suspect you're very special to her." Volger turned around, done with the combing. "Unless, she's got some hidden agenda."

Alek nodded. "I'll find out what it is, you can be sure of it."

"Seems to me that you've been making a few agendas of your own." Volger raised an eyebrow.

Alek felt his face grow hot. In silence, he exited.

Alek's room was cold and bitter. Somehow, he'd have to challenge the Empress, and win. If he lost, he'd be taken for an utter fool. He couldn't risk all that. And the publicity, he hadn't even thought of the lot of that at all. International reporters would be swarming. That was to be expected. And a visit by the notoriously irritating Eddie Malone was almost a give-in.

Alek hurried about his way. _There was much to do._


	3. Chapter 3

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

Very important chapter! 

By the way, Janika is supposed to be mean ;)

By the order of the head boffins, the roof way was to be uncovered. Barlow was going to attempt to fly the zeppelins. This was exciting news, especially for Deryn. Per Alek's request, Deryn showed him how to fly one—simply. The smallest zeppelin was zebra-striped and patched together by string and glue, it seemed. It could run on a minimal single pilot, but that would be quite a risk. Alek was a quick study.

"One day we're going to fly in this together." He said to her.

"Not unless you're expecting an awful crash-landing, you daft boy. There isn't a safe way to land it yet. It'll burst at the seams if it's in a strong wind too long."

"Hmm." Alek now learned how to fly this thing.

Time passed.

Empress Janika was a pain to the members and residents of the Zoological Society of London for as long as her bum sat at the seat of one of their tables. She played the part of a lady, though she was a right foul git in every manner.

When she left, it was a relief to all. Like a ton had been lifted from their shoulders. Everybody could return to their normal pattern of behavior without having to worry about being sacked from their post for slacking-off.

One night, Alek tried to explain to Deryn how he needed to "fix problems". Though she suspected whatever he was taking about must have something to do with Empress Janika.

"But you belong right here. Don't be daft!" Deryn said.

Deryn couldn't ever take his voice as a serious protest even when he tried. "I'm not! I, I just mean that I think—"

"You thought wrong."

"Well I think I've got a way to fix things, Deryn! You're just going to have to trust me!"

Deryn crossed her arms and frowned. "Blisters, boy, you've got it all wrong. She done messed up your mind or something. You've gotta get yourself together!"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do." He said in a huff. They stormed away from each other. Neither even considered that this might be a simple misunderstanding and they might owe the other one an apology.

Around every corner, Deryn would tell Lilit exactly what she thought of all this clatter. Lilit laughed, naturally. Deryn hadn't had a chat with Alek in over a day. She suspected he was just busy, until the morning when she rapped upon his door. She twisted the knob and it opened. With a brisk _crack_, the door opened. The surrounding room was exactly like she'd seen it on the day they first joined. Not even Bovril was left. "Blisters!" She whispered angrily. "I should've known he'd try something stupid." She sighed.

To Volger, Deryn concluded. Surely the Count must know where his little master had shoveled off to. Volger's office was large and round. The walls were faded green with a slight olive tint. It used to belong to one of the boffins, who had moved out.

Volger's contribution to the Society was teaching them fencing and other forms of self-defense. "Deryn Sharp?" He looked up from the blade he was polishing.

"Alek's gone."

"I'm not surprised." Volger said in a casual exhale.

"What? The boy's gone barking mad, I tell you! If he'd a waited just a wee bit more time, then everything would've been back in order, and,"

"See, that's just it, lass. _He_ wants to be the one to make that order." Deryn could see that Volger's expression was dead serious.

"Got any idea where he'd go?"

"I…have a theory. But, no real evidence to prove it yet." Volger sighed and shook his head. "All's left to do is wait for him to come back. He seemed pretty put out about something, don't you think?"

Deryn looked down and scrunched her nose. It was _her_ fault he had left. She'd upset him. Maybe if she'd listened to his side a little more, then he wouldn't have taken off like this.

Deryn bumped into Lilit in the hall. "Alek's gone." Deryn said. Her voice was dead. Without emotion. Her words were aimless.

"Humph. I can't say I'm surprised. He seemed mad. Got any ideas what it was all about?"

"It was me, Lilit. It's all my fault. Barking spiders, Lilit, I've gone and lost myself my best friend! I've always teased him a bit, but this time he's had enough. And he left. All because of me." Deryn felt her forehead growing hot with anger, embarrassment and regret.

Lilit said nothing, but beckoned for Deryn to come into Lilit's dorm. "When and _if_ he returns, you'll need to have an apology prepared." The raven-haired young lady shifted through her over-stuffed laundry basket of clean clothes, sorting them into the proper piles based on the arrangement of her room. "I've got an idea." Lilit's eyes sparked. She held up a rose-colored skirt and scarf to Deryn's pale face. "Put this on."

"I'm not wearing _that_! It's _ghastly_!"

"Hmm." Lilit opened her closet. Deryn winced at the rainbow aura of young lady clothes. Attractive clothes. "Take your pick. If you want to hold onto your man, then you've got to give him something to look at."

Deryn made a retching noise. Lilit chuckled and pushed her friend into the closet.

"If you expect to try and stuff me into this clart, then you must be half-daft and all-around insane."

"I suppose I am. It's crazy, but it'll work. The moment he first sees you, he'll think he's looking at a princess."

"No. That's not—it won't—I'd never ever—"

"Yes!" Lilit pulled out a yellow dress.

"No. No!" Deryn fussed.

"Yes, _yes_!" Lilit opened her hat box and pulled out a feathery green hat.

"Never!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!

"NO!"

"In the name of love, Deryn!"

Deryn fell silent.

The next minute she knew, Deryn was wearing a pink ballgown and corset with a hat to match. The sleeves had just the right amount of poof to give Deryn reason to complain. And on top of it all, Deryn was swearing for the entire seven minutes it took her to put it on.

"Now, for the shoes…" Lilit showed off a pair of elegant purple flats. "I won't expect you to walk in heels. Yet."

"This is a barking nightmare!" Deryn protested.

Lilit gently combed through her blond friend's tumbleweed of hair. By the time it was straight, Deryn complained that there was more hairs caught on the brush than growing on her noggin.

"Stand up. I'm going to teach you how to waltz." Lilit said.

Deryn groaned and reluctantly stood to her feet. "Blisters! My foot hurts!"

"When it hurts, that means your shoes are on right." Lilit said. She turned on the record player and a brassy tune filled the room.

"This is most absurd and definitely unnecessary!"

"Quit your blethering, Deryn!" Lilit took Deryn's hand. "Don't you know how to dance _at all?_"

"No." Deryn spat. "And I don't want to!"

"Well, what exactly do you plan on doing at the tea party in the banquet hall tomorrow night?"

"I was planning on sleeping through the day since they've given it off."

Lilit gasped dramatically. "No, no, no! Not only will you be _attending_, but you will be dancing with _Alek_!" Lilit showed Deryn how to stand properly and they joined hands in the waltzing position.

"Alek will do just fine not to attend either. If he's back by then, I'll be daft."

"_He won't be able to take his eyes off you_." Lilt said, certain of every word. "1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, _waltz_."

Deryn wasn't catching on to the rhythm. If you missed a step, you couldn't repeat. Dancing was so unlike working with machinery. Deryn was out of her element. Suddenly, suffocating in the bowels of an airship seemed more preferable than the waltz.

"I've got two left feet, don't I?" Deryn asked. "And that's about the only dancing term I know, so don't get ahead of yourself."

"More like _nine_ left feet." Lilit sighed. "1 2 3. It's really that easy."

Deryn repeatedly tripped over her feet. The fancy lady shoes didn't make things any easier. Finally, Deryn just stopped altogether. "Lilit, you take me for a fool if you think I'm going to keep this up! Especially in front of Alek!"

Lilit turned off the record player. "Allright, I'll teach you how to eat."

"_How to eat_? I'm not four!"

"You certainly eat enough for four." Lilit said.

Deryn was about to swear, but Lilit put her hand over her mouth. With Lilit's other hand, she opened the door.

Deryn was shaking her head. She didn't want to leave the room looking like…like a girl. Lilit had to push her out. "There's always orange tarts in the floor lounge." Lilit said in a petite whisper. "You could do well to walk proper too. Then maybe your feet wouldn't hurt as much in those shoes."

"You daft git!" Deryn whispered through the ruffles of dress she was holding up. She couldn't risk tripping on the layers and falling flat on her face for all the lads to see. Lilit smiled.

Elegantly, Lilit entered the parlor-like lounge, as if she was walking on air. With a stomp and a huffing sigh, Deryn entered the room. Lilit picked up two plates and tenderly chose two orange tarts, one for each plate. Then, Lilit sat down at one of the tapestry chairs and crossed one leg over the other knee to make her hips look thinner.

Deryn took the other plate, sat down with her skirts all in a clump, and wiped the sweat from the back of her neck with the cuff of the sleeve.

"Like _this_." Lilit instructed. She bit off the smallest corner of the tart and chewed it five times, then swallowed.

"Well at that rate, you're never going to finish it!" Deryn said loudly.

Other people in the room glanced over at the young girls. It was no surprise that they were whispering about the odd lass in a dress for a change.

Deryn stripped off a big bite of the tart and wiped the corner of her cheeks. "Better?" She asked Lilit, the food still in her mouth. Crumbs tricked out of her mouth and landed on the floor.

"Lovely." Lilit said with sarcasm. She poured a cup of tea and sipped through the hot steam.

Suddenly, the hall turned flashing red through the door. An annoyingly loud alarm bellowed through the entire building. Deryn spit the tart out of her mouth and pieces went all over Lilit's face and the bustle of her dress. Startled, Lilit choked on her tea. The up spilt, and her corset was stained with the tea leaves.

"Do you know what that means?" Deryn exclaimed, standing to her feet excitedly. "It means that something's been _stolen_!"

"It's that boy and the zebra zeppelin, no doubt." One of the boffins in the room said to Deryn.

Deryn forgot her current wardrobe condition and made her way to the room where all the zeppelins were. Sure enough, the zebra zeppelin was absent. "Alek!" Deryn snapped her fingers. "And it took this long for the daft boffins to notice!"

The Vatican is the smallest country in the world. It is home to the pope and his guards. Alek was tying up the last knot in the coil. Now he was ready to perform a hydrogen diagnostic. "Everything seems to be in working order." He said to himself. "Deryn said the only way to land was to crash, but I don't believe _that_ for a moment." With a sharp turn, Alek was getting even closer to the landing platform he desired—the roof of the Vatican building where the pope lived. Then there would be no worry about how to get past the guards.

The landing was hard, rendering many holes in the zeppelin. None of that mattered now. Alek continually reminded himself that any damage could be repaired, but only after the errand had been completed. The Vatican was an old building carved out of brown marble and ivory-sand colored walls. The floors were made of some sort of mineral that was rough on the feet. Alek's feet skidded across and nearly collapsed under his body. The rubber soles of his shoes wore away.

Alek walked through archway after archway. People stared at him. They knew he didn't belong. He was armed only with his fencing stick, and his piloting goggles. Pope Benedict XV has been the pope for many years. His hair is gray and his double chin is sagging. Alek couldn't ever take the man seriously when he was in his strange robes—looking all fancy and spiffy and obscenely ancient.

Regally, the Pope sat at a desk, surrounded by messengers, advisors and bishops. The pope was the center of this little network, by which Alek now stood before. "Pope Benedict?" Alek's adolescent voice echoed back through the nearly empty room. Everybody ignored him except for one man, a stout bishop in a red robe.

"Who are you and how did you get in?" The bishop's face was wrinkly and unforgiving. Alek dare not lie.

"I'm here to see the pope." Alek only had a moment to gather himself. "I want to ask him if he remembers writing a certain letter…to the archduke of Austria-Hungary?"

"How did you get in? These walls are solid brick between two layers of marble."

Alek took a gamble and only stared back at the pope. "_It's an emergency_." Alek's words sounded more like a command then a request. That was the first time he ever gave a real order. The urge to command came from within. It originated from a certain surety of himself and who he is, one that he had not discovered while he was previously a prince.

Alek walked past the bishop and presented himself in front of the pope in a humble manner. Alek bowed respectfully. The pope looked up with his old gray eyes and scanned the lad.

"You're just a boy." The bishop said.

"Tu sei solo un ragazzo?" The pope's shaky voice repeated in Italian.

"I may be a young lad, but I am Prince Aleksander Ferdinand of Hohenberg, _rightful_ heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. My Count Volger said it was you who produced the letter that allowed me to claim my empire."

"Volger? Yes…I do remember him…he spoke of a baby. A very important prince…son of Franz Ferdinand…"

"That's me. I'm all grown up now. I'm ready to fulfill my birthright."

"I…gave him the letter. Didn't I? I can't be sure, it was so long…" The pope took a deep breath and exhaled in a wheezing coughing fit. "Yes, yes I _do_ remember. I gave him the letter. So what's the matter?"

"I'm afraid I wasn't very careful with it. It got lost along the long winding path my life has taken since the day I lost my parents."

The pope put on two pairs of spectacles and squinted so he could better see Alek. "The archduke is _dead_? That would mean that you…you…you're the—"

"I'm the new emperor." Alek's impatience was increasing. "But there's a woman on the throne—only a few years older than I. But she's not what's best for the kingdom. _My_ kingdom."

The pope stared back blankly.

"I'm asking you to write a new letter!" Alek raised his voice.

The pope laughed and wheezed, quite amused by the youth. "I can't just go writing a document for anyone who comes to me saying they're royal blood and want to take over a country!"

"What must I do to prove myself to you?"

"Your father…he left you an inheritance. It's of special value…and entrusted to you and you alone. When you fled Austria-Hungary…this would have been your…only safe place to go. What is it?"

"My father had a castle in the high snowy mountains of Switzerland. He left me gold and many other treasures, all of which I gave up to be a captive on the _Leviathan_."

"The _Darwinist_ ship?"

"Yes."

"_Why_?"

"The crew members of the Leviathan are and always will be my allies and my friends. I saved them and they saved me. We went round about this cycle for a while."

"_Where's the gold, boy?_"

"Somewhere buried under the carpet of snow. Like I said, I gave up."

"The be a…prisoner?"

"Sort of."

"My, my, a true Hapsburg you are. You know who your allies are…not by their sides in the war but by their relation to _you_. I need no further proof to see that you will make a great leader…whether or not you're Hapsburg's son."

Within the next hour or so, the pope had produced the document. He and all the bishops signed it confidentially. It was not the bishop's job to question the pope. Alek received more than his speckle of luck for the day. With the legal document in hand, Alek disappeared back into the zeppelin.

Now came the hardest part. As if it would be easy to convince the pope that he, a seventeen year old lad was the emperor of a country. It was.

No one was as good a patcher as Deryn when it came to hydrogen and aeronautics and all that clart. Alek's face was stained with blood from getting a rope smacked into his forehead. He didn't know exactly what he was doing. This wasn't his job. He tried to be a brave soldier and trod his way through, but every time he repaired a patch, another patch would burst. He needed another pair of hands.

Guards might swarm about him soon, if he didn't take off. Alek was beginning to understand the word Deryn frequently used: pressure. He was holding down two patches with his hands, hoping that they'd stay closed. After a few minutes of this, he decided it was best for the time being to risk it all and go up into the air.

Alek took off, leaving several holes in the zeppelin still unpatched.

That meant it would be a low flight.

Fuel was leaking.

If Alek somehow made it back to London, it wouldn't be anywhere near the Zoological Society. Worry flowed through his veins. He was carrying precious cargo now. Ensealed in that one little document was the key to being reinstated as a prince.

Alek had to swerve the zeppelin so it wouldn't crash into the high buildings. Now, if he could just make it across the Thames River. Just over the river was a broad rooftop. If Alek wanted to live, he had best force a landing _now_ before the zeppelin sunk too low. The landing was slow, but easy. Once the zeppelin was sound and secure on the roof, the rest of the hydrogen and air leaked out. Alek looked over the edge of the roof. There was naught but a rotten set of wood stairs. That would be his ticket out.

The stairs left Alek in the heart of a back alley, where a drunken fat man pushed him into a wall. Alek made no sound. He patiently waited for the drunken man to pass. And then Alek made a run for it.

Alek was in the center of a busy street way before it finally hit him that he had no idea where he was or how to get to where he wanted to go. He stopped at a little drive-in to ask for directions. "How do I get to the Zoo?" Alek asked the counter lady.

The woman was middle-aged. Her hair was bright red and fake. She wore too much makeup. "The big black building?"

"The same."

"That's _seven miles_ away. It'll be quite unfortunate if you go the way on foot."

"That's all I've got."

She sighed. "Just keep walking in the direction you were going and you'll see it."

"Thanks." Alek darted out. He must have ran a mile before his ankles gave out. It was always his ankles that got tired before his thighs. He sat on a bench for a while to catch the air he had been starving himself of.

It was then that Bovril decided to awaken. Alek was too out of breath to talk to his little furry friend.

The street clock struck seven. Alek realized how late it was getting. He wanted to make it home before he needed to spend a night in one of those God-forsaken motels filled with fabricated animal feces…

At least spending a night on the zeppelin was not half bad. In the entirety of his journey, Alek had spent two nights on the zeppelin he had…borrowed. Was it really worth it, in the end? Thievery? Of course, once Alek was Emperor, he could donate a _hundred_ zeppelins to the Society. In the long trod home, though, being Emperor seemed so far away.

It was nearing eight o'clock and every kiss of warmth had left the streets. People were beginning to go home. How lucky for them, Alek thought. His boots were covered in muck from trampling through puddles, all to get to where he was going. He was beginning to recognize everything now, though. It was all beginning to get more familiar. Finally he was on the right track.

It was almost like a mirage, now that he stood in front of the building he had so long waited to see.


	4. Chapter 4

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

Lovee AlekxDeryn!

Alek knew how to get inside well enough. Alek bumped into Lilit on the staircase down. "How nice to see you're well, Alek. And you're 100% _here_. You might want to check out the banquet hall—"

"No time to chat, Lilit, I've gotta find some people!" He interrupted. He made his way to his room where he shut the door and picked Bovril up out of the sweaty pocket. "Make yourself at home, Bovril, I've gotta go find Deryn and Volger." Alek whispered to the loris before he left.

"Home." Bovril settled down on the bed.

"Deryn?" Alek looked down the hallway. He wanted her to be the first one he told. but seeing as how she was in neither her work station nor her room, Alek could wait no longer before he spilled out his news. It was none other than Volger's room that Alek was now near.

Volger was inside taking a shave. "Hello, Alek." Volger seemed not at all surprised to see the boy.

Alek was smiling broadly, no longer wishing to conceal it. He handed Volger the letter. Volger put on his spectacles and shortly hereafter raised both eyebrows. "How _resourceful_ of you. I must admit I knew it would only be a matter of time before you'd go wishing for this fate again…I just didn't think you'd have the backbone to do it." Volger bowed to the boy. "As you know, I am forever your servant, young master."

Alek gave the count a salute, took the letter, and headed for Dr. Barlow's office. The head boffin seemed to be absent. At this result, Alek thought it best to just turn back to his room and call it a day. He might have better luck finding Deryn tomorrow.

Alek was in his night robes when he decided to read over the letter. Just one more time. By the time he reached the end, his eyes were seeping with tiredness and he leaned his chin on his hand, too tired to get up. He let his eyes close.

The door squabbled open. "Alek?"

Alek's eyes were foggy and he didn't know what time it was. It must be very late. It couldn't be morning already! However, the voice tone was clear. "Deryn, I got something very important today. It's going to change my life."

"That's nice, Alek, but—"

Bovril crawled up to Alek and held the letter up to the lamplight so he could see the Pope's seal. Alek blinked a few times. Now he could see clearly. "Empress Janika is going to be off that throne soon enough. I've got legal clearance from the Pope."

"Alek, turn around—"

"The Pope's real slow-going these days. That's why it took me more than a day. I've decided that I'm going back to Austria-Hungary as soon as I can gather all my belongings. You ought to come too, that is, if you're not too attached to this place. The London Zoo is a fantastic home, and I'd completely understand if you want to stay, but you should at least consider coming with me because everything's _so close_ to being the way it should be—"

"Barking spiders, Alek, _turn around!_"

Alek slowly stood up. His eyes popped open. It was a _young woman_ he saw in front of him, not the person the voice belonged to. He shook his head, thinking he must have been imagining things. After all, he'd just gone a few days without any sleep. The image was muddled from his tiredness, but she was still there.

Deryn took one small step forward, letting go of the door that she was holding onto. Her ankle twisted and she caught herself on the rugged nightstand before taking a topsy spill to the ground. Ruffles would have been flying everywhere. Deryn was pleased to have avoided it. "Heels." She confessed through her teeth, like it was a sin to wear heels. "I didn't think you'd be back in time for the tea party, but it's only fair you should know that you're the reason I've allowed myself to be trapped in this," She wanted to say clart, but, she knew Lilit wouldn't want her to, "This skirt."

"Skirt." Bovril said with a chuckle. He laughed so hard that he almost fell off the desk.

Alek looked down. It was a dress she was wearing, not a skirt. Even Alek could see that. And it was a right _fancy_ one too. Deryn's hair was curled and she wore pink powder on her face and her lips were the color of cherries. Her slim body was framed by a pale green corset dress with short sleeves. Instead of her usual brown gloves, she wore lady's gloves which hid her ghastly fingernails.

The most peculiar bit about all of this was that she smelled like lilies—fresh spring lilies. "You're wearing all that because you fancy a dance?"

"No, I'll be quite honest. I can't dance. And I don't want to, really. I just thought you might enjoy—er—I might get the chance to apologize to you because I thought I'm the reason you _fled the coop_, so to speak."

"The reason." Bovril said.

Alek shook his head in an obvious "No". "I would have left whether we were on good terms or not."

"So, we're still…friends?"

"Friends." Bovril said.

"Yes…?" Alek wasn't the type of guy to stay mad very long, or even get mad at all for that matter.

"It's all in good fun, you know, when I call you daft. You're really not daft at all, you know. You're quite clever, actually. To think I almost thought I lost you!" She laughed in relief. She took a step forward to hug him, but the heels got in the way and interrupted her stance, sending her bottom first onto the cold floor. In an unladylike fashion, she scrambled to the ground and brushed the dust off the dress.

Alek laughed so hard he had to sit back down. Eventually, she began to laugh too.

"You find this funny, Alek?" She managed to force the words out through her laughing fit.

"You. In a dress. I've yet to see something more bizarre!"

"All in good fun." Bovril laughed.

"I'd almost hate to leave." Alek was still laughing, but Deryn stopped.

"Leave? I thought you were joking."

"No, no." Alek handed her the letter.

Deryn was finished with the heels and she kicked them off. The both flew in different directions. One nearly hit Alek in his regal head, but he ducked just in time. When one's so short on sleep, they tend to find everything rather fascinating and funny. Alek was laughing all throughout the time it took Deryn to read the letter.

By the time her eyes finished absorbing the last sentence into her noggin, her face was stark-raving mad. "Blisters, boy! You're going to be the next Emperor! Again! you're going to have to challenge that git Janika! She's not going to like it. And neither will you. Look at this from a different perspective, Alek. I know you well. And I don't think you're ready to handle an empire. The war's just beginning to end. Austria-Hungary's taken one too many bombs to the cover."

"Exactly why I need to go. My country needs me now more than ever."

"You're a brave ally, Alek. But you're not even eighteen."

"Yes, but I will be. Soon. I've just gotta do this."

"Are you sure you're doing what's best for them? Or are you just doing what's best for yourself?"

"The people, of course! I won't be able to do this if I can't count on your help."

Deryn paused a moment, considering all that this might lead to. He would take the throne, of course, that would not be hard seeing as how Janika is an incompetent toe-rag. But of course, Alek's blood being made royal would cause a rift in his relationship with Deryn. Suddenly, he seemed like a wish she would never get to make. All the possibilities (not that she'd made any because that would be too barking ridiculous to fancy herself married to him) suddenly seemed so impossible. "You'll have my friendship, as always, but my home is in these walls. It may be very different than the _Leviathan_, but it's still like serving a part in something big. I have the same job as many other lads and lasses. As long as everyone maintains their station, everything goes well. The whole place has that, that _smell_. That _lucky_ smell. And the churning and clanking are the beautiful song of a well-oiled machine. I've got friends here, too, you know. And so do you. It's like a little city. Its home. _Where is your home, Alek?_"

Alek looked down. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

Deryn collected the heels. "I sure hope you find it." Deryn walked out the door.

It might have been a little too late for Alek to realize he hadn't given her a chance to dance with him yet. He kept a safe distance as he followed her to the banquet hall. When he walked in shortly after she did, everyone in the room was surprised to see him. There was a charming song playing in the background. Count Volger and Nora Barlow were dancing.

_How exquisitely disgusting_, Alek thought.

"Good evening, Alek." Lilit curtseyed for him. "Had a bit of a rough night out? I'm not daft, you know. I know you went somewhere. And it must have been real important."

Alek spotted Deryn. "We'll talk later, Lilit." He said abruptly.

Deryn was sitting on a chair, heels on, and she was sipping some tea. Her legs were crossed and her back was erect. Those were right about the only two tasks she had mastered from what Lilit had taught.

Deryn nearly choked on the tea when she saw Alek in front of her. He made a bow. A prince bowed to _her_, a common girl. Of course, nobody knew except Volger, and Volger wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. To Deryn, however, it meant a lot.

"Dance?" He asked. He couldn't withhold a smile. No, not with those ruffles.

Deryn spat the tea back into the cup and set it on the stout table next to her. She took off the heels so she'd be able to stand—and not only that but she was about a foot taller than him with them on.

She was fairly certain he was dancing right, not that she knew very much about the subject. One of his hands was on her waist and the other was intertwined with her own hand. If she happened to step wrong, he didn't complain, only smiled. She smiled too. If she had not been wearing that powder, it would have been obvious to the world just how crimson her cheeks actually were.

Lilit was dancing with a strapping young man—only one of many who had asked her to dance. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her little blond friend the former middy who had made a convincing an attractive male. Apparently, she'd proven herself to be an attractive female too, though she would never act the sort. Maybe that's what made her most alluring. It was definitely a contributing factor.

Volger and Barlow leaned closer together so he could tell her something. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Alek's gone and found himself a way back into the royal line. He'll be very important, I reckon. He'll need our help, of course. He'll need advisors."

"And the empire?"

"He'll make a great ruler, no doubt. I knew he wouldn't give up on it completely. He's just not like that. The time is now. I suspect he's the one who took the zeppelin. You must forgive him. I'll assure you the debt will be repaid, soon as he's got the chance."

"Now that I understand that my zeppelin was stolen by reason of a boy trying to fulfill his birthright, I suppose I can forgive him." Sometimes it was hard to tell when she was being sarcastic or dead honest.

Either way, Volger was on the right side. "Thank you, Dr. Barlow."

"You're welcome, Count." With that, they ended their dance.

Their relationship was purely business and politics, of course. They were allies, though. _Great_ allies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

What do you think of it so far?

Alek managed to stuff all his wears into the suitcase he was given as a gift from Dr. Barlow. She's been quite appreciative of his noble situation once he'd explained to her why he took the zeppelin. Of course, she seemed a bit put out about the fact that he'd stolen it and ruined it. Still, she was an understanding woman.

It was Deryn, however, who stood over him with a skeptical expression on her face. She'd never say it out loud, but she didn't want him to go. She was no longer afraid of losing him as a friend. Now she feared losing him to Austria-Hungary and the rest of the world.

Alek was headed for Sarajevo, the capital. That's where Janika lived. And that's where he'd have to present the decree to her, forcing her to step down.

Dr. Barlow had given Alek his own zeppelin now so that he could make it there safely. Other than Bovril, Volger was the only other friend coming with Alek on his journey. It was painstakingly hard to wave goodbye to Deryn as he flew off in the zeppelin.

"At a slow and careful rate, we'll arrive in about two days." Volger told Alek. "You'd best get some rest, your highness. You'll need it. You'll also need to be quick-witted when addressing people like Janika. They tend to have the ability to mean every word they say and turn their opponent's words against them."

Alek nodded. He took a nap in the sleeping den. There were only four beds in the small zeppelin.

In the morning, Alek surveyed the scenery. Widowed trees, broken homes, poor soil—definitely the land had not yet recovered from the abrasive war.

_I'll fix this_, Alek kept repeating in his mind.

Soon, the time had come for Alek to stand before the despised Empress Janika. Surrounded by the poor Austrian homes, Janika's castle stood perfect and upright, its greybrick walls gleaming in the morning sunlight. The day was young. The air was crisp. Spring was just beginning to peek through the long-dormant earth.

Volger and Alek landed the zeppelin on a nearby plain. They made the rest of the way on foot. Bovril was sleeping in Alek's pocket. Alek's clothes were clean for a change. Hew wanted to appear in the best proper manner so that Janika would be more liable to hear him out.

An ordinary-looking man and a youth could not just walk into the Empress's castle. There were guards. And they had black uniforms and funny hats. They were stiff. They were also very-well armed.

"Halt! Who are you?" The front guard peered down at Alek. The stiff must have been seven feet tall. He and two others patted down Alek and Volger in search for weapons. Alek was clear, but Volger held a small knife in his coat pocket which the guard confiscated. Volger showed no fear or change in mood whatsoever.

A little intimidated, Alek stepped back slightly. He refused to blink, fearing that the stiff might run him through with a mere slash of his sword.

"I am a Count. And this boy here, he's a Prince." Volger said coolly.

The guard's face remained expressionless.

Volger held up the Pope's letter and the stiff read it. Reluctantly, he let them pass, but with four accompaniers.

The royal guards walked in synch. They walked fast too, not caring that their heavy boots made loud revolting sounds when they moved. They stopped in a big hall where each guard took hold of one shoulder of each of the guys. They pushed Volger and Alek to their knees.

"This man claims that the youth is a barking _Prince_." The biggest guard ripped the paper from Volger's hands.

Empress Janika emerged from a neighboring room. Regally, slowly and graciously she approached them in her traditional Austria-Hungarian gown. She read the letter. Alek watched her proud eyes fall down to the very bottom of the paper. It was all in Latin. Alek and Volger both knew the guards couldn't read it.

With a wave of the hand, Janika dismissed them. "Leave the boy."

They took Volger. Alek grunted in protest, but Alek shushed her.

Janika waited until everyone else was too far away to hear the conversation. Alek stood to his feet and took a big breath.

"So it appears you're more than just a common boy after all." Janika sneered. "Or, at least, you've managed to trick the Pope."

"No, no. My father was Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne."

"_Was_?"

"He's dead."

"I'm so sorry." She said unforgivingly.

"I'm the only surviving member of the royal family."

Janika smiled. "I think you're forgetting about _me_."

Alek rolled his eyes. "And just exactly how are _you_ related to the late Emperor?"  
>"Oh, it's a wee bit too complicated for a little boy like you to understand." She laughed deviously.<p>

"You're not even related to him at all and we both know it."

"_I'd prefer it if you don't let that leave these walls_."

Alek smiled smugly. "If you will, then, _step down_ and let me take my place as Emperor."

Janika smiled once more. "You forget that _I_ am the only one who knows the truth about you and you happen to be in _my_ castle surrounded by _my_ guards. I could just throw you and your little Count in the dungeon and leave you there to tragically die. Or as far as Eddie Malone is concerned, you'll have taken a nasty dive off the roof of a building because you just couldn't handle your teen angst."

"I can handle my life just fine!"

Janika laughed. Once she calmed down, she took a good look at him. "However, I might be willing to agree to a compromise. I'll marry you—a commoner. That way I'll still be Empress and you'll get your title."

"There's a law that prevents royals from marrying commoners."

Janika snapped her fingers. "Like _that_, I can get rid of it. I've got an entire cabinet at my command, remember? I've led them to believe that if they don't grant my every whim and desire then I'll just walk out and leave them with no ruler. Without a strong upper hand, this country will easily collapse in on itself." She turned her head down the narrow passage to the neighboring room. "Richard!" She yelled. A short man came running with a paper and a pen. He looked scared. "I'd like you to annul the law about royal marriages." Richard nodded obediently and wrote it down. She waved her hand and he left as quickly as he had appeared. "See? Besides, I wouldn't be marrying a commoner anyways, because you're _you_."

Alek found a sudden strength to challenge her, even though she was winning. "It's not the _title_ that I want." Alek was unswervingly bold. "And besides, I could never love you. People like you are more common than sand, unfortunately. As a matter of fact, I'd rather _have_ sand."

Empress Janika's eyes lit up like fire. She let out a horrendous scream and several guards came running. "Throw him in the dungeon!" She commanded.

Something hard hit Alek on the back of his skull before he could even turn all the way around. Next thing he knew, he was face down in a damp metal chamber. His face was scarred with scabs of dried blood. They must have literally _thrown_ him into this ill-fated place. His first instinct was to study his surroundings.

The walls were made of typical Clanker steel—unyielding to human hands and heat-repelling. Alek had heard of dungeons and brigs but he himself had never actually seen one, much less been trapped inside. Most people wouldn't dare. Alek's legs were cut up too. Blood stained through his pants, but he didn't feel it, luckily.

He managed to amble onto a bench. It was cold on his thighs; most uncomfortable but better than sitting on the floor.

"Alek?"

The boy turned around. "Count Volger?"

The Count sat next to Alek. Volger wasn't all bloody like Alek but he _was_ weak. "There's no way out from our end. I've got an idea, though. I knew you'd end up in here one way or another. Janika's quite a wretched plookhead. She's also a ninny, so that means my plan will work."

Alek, not following, asked, "What are you talking about?"

"You've forgotten about the _loris_, little master." Volger pulled the tired little Bovril from Alek's pocket. Bovril yawned and opened his eyes. "Remember when you first met Janika? She went ecstatic over the fabricated creature. If she saw him run past, surely she'd let him go. It's our only chance."

"Only chance." Bovril said.

"You're not suggesting that Bovril fly back to the London Zoo in the zeppelin and mount up a rescue mission?"

Volger took a deep breath. "No, no, your Princeliness. I'm merely suggesting that we get Bovril to get the Pope's letter. She took it from you, didn't she?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"So if Bovril shows up on her desk and takes it from her, she'd scream first rather than try to get the letter back."

"They must have thrown you harder than they threw me because that plan is _mad_! What if Bovril should fail?"

"He'll find his way back to you. He's pretty good with that. And we won't end up any worse than we are right now. I know, it's a gamble, little master, but I don't see _you_ coming up with any better ideas. I knew that Janika isn't the type to just leave you with the letter. I counted on you having Bovril hidden on you somewhere. So far, I've been estimating profundantly."

It took Alek a moment for him to realize that Volger was awaiting his approval. "Do it." Alek sighed.

Days have gone by since Alek left the Zoological Society. Lilit passed Deryn in the hall. Deryn's movement was uncharacteristically rough as she was attempting to mend a wall pipe. Lilit leaned over her friend's shoulder. "Something bothering you?"

Deryn jumped back, startled. Her hands were greased with oil from the pipe and her face was tinted with the color of the smoke that occasionally erupted from this area of the wall. "Whatcha want, Lilit? Can't you see I'm trying to do my barking job here?"

Lilit smiled graciously. "You're still put out about Alek leaving."

Deryn rolled her eyes and resumed her work.

Lilit chuckled. "Believe me, if I was you, I'd be upset too. It's not something to be ashamed of."

"What are you getting at?"

"You should've gone with him and you know it. You love him."

Deryn turned around and stood up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Some might call it friendship, but I see you two look at each other on a whole different level. I'm trying to get you to admit that you wanted to go with him to Austria-Hungary and help him. But you were too upset to do that, so you just let him go, all by himself except for the Count. And by now Alek's probably in the process of being crowned the ruler of his country, with everything he ever wanted except for one thing: _you_."

Deryn sighed. Now Lilit was digging deeper. "I'd say I feel a squick more uneasy rather than upset."

Lilit nodded. "I'd call it woman's intuition. So what are you going to do about it?"

Deryn resumed her work. She was getting nowhere and it was frustrating her.

"You should ask Dr. Barlow. She'll know what to do." Lilit started to tiptoe away. She'd told Deryn what she needed to hear. And that was that. Anything more and Deryn might just explode.

Deryn muddled with the pipe's surrounding connectors and began unscrewing pipe after pipe until she found the problem. Three boys were supposed to be helping her, but they had all taken a break for lunch. One of the boys, Laoer, reminded Deryn of Newkirk. Newkirk reminded her of the Leviathan. The Leviathan reminded her of the war. And the war reminded her of Alek. Everything leads back to him these days. He'd been on her mind _forever_.

She couldn't just let him go! No! He was her friend and ally, and also her first kiss. He'd risked his life and his secrets for her many times. Laoer came round the corner and Deryn plopped her gloves and her wrench into the boy's hands.

Deryn briskly made her way to the lady boffin's office. Without even politely knocking on the door, Deryn turned the knob. Surprisingly, Dr. Barlow opened the door right as Deryn turned the knob. Barlow was wearing a coat and gloves and a hat. She was dressed for outside. "Hello, Deryn."

"Um, Dr. Barlow, could I ask you something?"

"Sure. But, make it quick because I've got an aeroplane to catch."

"What would you do, Dr. Barlow, if you were in my place? If you had just lost your best friend to something as fantastical as destiny? What if your best friend's destiny was already planned out and made to have him an ocean apart from you?"

"Been missing Alek, have you now?" Dr. Barlow smiled.

Deryn frowned.

"What would I do? Well, I certainly wouldn't count it a loss. No, not if it was destiny. If you've won yourself a best friend, then who's to say destiny is the enemy? _Destiny_ could very well have intended this separation only to test you. There comes a point when we must all make our own choices, however _dangerous_ they may be. If you feel the need to support him, then feel free to fancy yourself a zeppelin. However, you must not _ever_ make the mistake of travelling alone."

Deryn's eyes were wide.

Dr. Barlow walked away.

Deryn had a few friends here that she could trust. Among them were Lilit and Laoer. In all, they had a group of about thirteen people who wanted to see Alek as the new Emperor of Austria-Hungary. Later, they went to the lady boffin and she presented them to one of the larger zeppelins.

Deryn would be the captain, of course, and Lilit would be her first mate. The other eleven were boys.

The zeppelin walls were long and the ceilings were about eleven feet high. The engine room was small, but that's because the engine itself occupied most of the space. All walls were made of iron, and most of the floors were made of steel. Along some of the outside walls, connecting wires intertwined and tied the communications all together. Air pipes were exposed along the ceiling.

The bridge was the broadest room in the entire place. Deryn felt like a captain the moment she breathed in the fresh aura of new machinery. She gave the order to prepare for launch. Outside, the lady boffin allowed them to exit through the launching path. Soon, the London world was in sight. Cheers were made throughout the zeppelin.

"Captain Sharp, it will take us several days to make it to Austria-Hungary, that with the windstorm approaching." Lilit informed her friend.

"_Captain Sharp_. I like the sound of that!" Deryn said. She took the seat of the captain's chair. Laoer worked the bridge controls. Lilit gazed out the window. The whole crew was working in tandem to the thrum of the zeppelin.

Alek and Volger were still in the dungeon. Yes, Bovril had retrieved the letter, but that's all that was new. Alek and Volger were only fed one meal a day. They were famished and exceedingly bored.

Volger had been giving Alek little pieces of advice where he remembered them. He wanted Alek to be fully equipped for another conversation with Janika, or whatever he might run into next. Volger also wanted Alek to be able to fight his way through if he had to. Volger had been teaching Alek physical self-defense as well as mental self-defense.

Volger also told Alek Bible parables. He used to read those stories to Alek when he was just a little tot. It was Franz's request that his son have at least a vague understanding of the Bible, since all of the stories had some deeper meaning that Alek would benefit from understanding it.

Alek's stomach had shrunken and it stopped growling as often. He lay on the bench—now made warm from his body heat—for hours. He would drift in and out of sleep when Volger was not prepared to teach him something. That's all Volger could do, really. He passed on knowledge that he knew so it would benefit the very important boy. Alek's reoccurring hope for becoming Emperor was fading away a little bit more every day.

Bovril snuck out the barred window every day to go catch meals whenever he wanted to. How lucky for Bovril, Alek thought.

There were no other prisoners in the dungeon, so Volger and Alek were free to talk about whatever they please.

Volger began to teach the boy how to talk to people like Janika. "You want to present yourself in a respectful manner. Don't lose sight of what you really want, but don't ever tell anyone either. Listen carefully to every word she says so that you can turn her sentences against her if necessary. As a good politician, you must learn how to flip people's sentences around so that they are in your favor. Know your enemy's strengths and weaknesses, and be honest about your own, too. If you get the chance, make sure your enemy will underestimate you. But most importantly, don't give yourself away."

"Everything you're telling me sounds pretty…selfish."

"You'll only need to resort to these methods if your life is in danger. Right now you're sound and secure. You're not suffering from anything except boredom."

"Are we going to move on to the self-defense lesson?" Alek was very impatient these days. He was irritable too. That's what happens when one does not eat enough.

"Yes, little master."

Volger was taller than Alek, and stronger too. But Alek was getting stronger by fighting him. It was a useful skill, combat. The more Alek listened to the Count, the more Alek was able to predict the next move. It was almost like a quick game of chess. Alek liked chess. He was never very good at it, until now.

Bovril came sweeping inside through the window with more than a dead bird in his mouth this time. He had a few pages of a _newspaper_. "Read all about it!"

Alek knew Bovril was only repeating what he had heard somewhere else before he stole the newspaper. Alek read the headline; "Eddie Malone Weekly Interviews with Empress Janika" Apparently Eddie will be staying with Janika for three weeks to spill all kinds of juice about her childhood. And this was the first of three issues about her. Alek looked at Count Volger. "Do you know what this means?"

"Yes, and so do you."

"Eddie Malone is here. Right now. Somewhere in the castle. He knows that I'm the true Emperor. He doesn't know that I threw away the first letter. In his mind, I've got just as much claim to the throne as Janika does. If we can get Bovril to find him and tell him I'm here, then he'll have to come and find me, that is, if he wants the _whole story_." Alek smiled.

Volger was proud that Alek had came up with the plan. Alek picked up Bovril. "Whole story." Bovril said.

"Find Eddie Malone." Alek said with urgency. "Eddie Malone, Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg wishes to speak to you about the secrets of the Empire. The future depends on you. Empress Janika is a dummkopf fraud. She threw me in the dungeon. End message." Alek told the loris. Volger placed the Pope's letter between Bovril's teeth. Alek set Bovril down and it scampered away through a small slit in the door.

"You're risking _everything_." Volger told the Prince. "If Bovril gets lost, caught, or killed, we're finished. I'd just like you to keep that in mind. And don't get your hopes up."

"But earlier, you just told me to—"

"I know what I said. A good Emperor—a good _man_, keeps in mind both extremes of the situation and finds ways to accept either side."

Alek sighed. He could hear the faint titter of Bovril's little feet growing softer and softer. The loris had a way of being able to sniff out select people. Maybe it could find Eddie, even if Eddie was on the other side of the castle. There was no harm in hoping, right?


	6. Chapter 6

**Empire**

By ~PrennCooder

An epic ending? Satisfying? Lemme know what you think!

There were five royal guards stationed outside Empress Janika's castle. The guards were tall and wide and most aggravated. Deryn and her crew were clad in their uniforms which were dirty and torn from their little tussle with the guards.

Where some lads were caught, others tried to sneak in through the open spaces. Everywhere they went, it seemed, a large guard blocked their entrance. It was quite frustrating. Lilit wanted to give up all together.

"You have to let us in! We're friends of the Emperor!" Deryn and several—but not all—of her crew members were huddled outside of the royal castle, trying their best to get in. the guards were holding them back fiercely. The zeppelin had landed on the courtyard. The guards had weapons aimed at the youths and neither side would yield. "I'm a personal friend of Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg! He must have come through with his Count Volger! Aleksander is the rightful Emperor!"

The guards grumbled amongst themselves. They pushed the kids away and crowded around them. Laoer was quivering.

One of the guards grunted to get everyone's attention. He waved his weapon in Laoer's face. Deryn thought the boy would keel over and faint. His face was growing pale as chalk. Deryn remembered how she was taught to stand during her fencing match with Alek. She found her strength just in time.

"Aleksander and Volger, the two sods with that phony letter from the Pope? Empress Janika right about _killed_ the boy for trying to lie to all of us!" The tallest guard said in his booming voice.

"Alek's dead?" Deryn gasped. "_Noooo!_" She screamed in horror. Lilit held her back. Deryn collapsed to her knees, taking Lilit with her. Deryn was sobbing. Her crew gathered round to comfort her.

A woman emerged from the front arch. Lilit could see clearly that it was Empress Janika, proud and stiff. She motioned for the guards to go away. "You!" Lilit scolded Janika "You killed Alek!"

"No, no, Alek's not dead."

"Alek's the true Emperor and you're a tyrant!" Deryn yelled.

"Come with me. I'll take you to him. He is quite alive."

"And you know that he's the rightful Emperor?" Lilit asked.

"Yes, of course. My guards and I just have…a misunderstanding. Come with me, everybody."

About seven members from Deryn's crew followed the Empress. Deryn wiped her tears in her dirty old midshipman uniform. The castle was broad and dusty. Deryn didn't like it one bit. It was clean, and empty. Too empty.

Janika knew her way around the place well enough. "We're almost here. Aleksander and his Count are just around the corner now…"

Off to the side, Deryn saw something moving on the ground. It was Bovril the loris, and following it was none other than the scandalous Eddie Malone.

Deryn glared at the news reporter. Bovril walked right on past, he was repeating a few sentences in a mumble. And he was apparently heading in the same direction as the group. Deryn listened closely. "Eddie Malone, Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg wishes to speak to you about the secrets of the Empire. The future depends on you. Empress Janika is a dummkopf fraud. She threw me in the dungeon. End message."

Janika howled the moment she saw the little loris. She jumped into Eddie Malone's arms. The loris kept right on walking, the Pope's letter in its mouth. Deryn's crew was must alarmed.

Deryn had no time to explain, so she told Lilit to tell the rest of the guys to find Alek at all costs. With that, Deryn took off fast as her legs could carry her out of the castle and into the zeppelin.

She was panting for breath as she began to arm herself with Spandau Machine Guns, and told her crewmen to do the same. "We're going to rescue us a Prince. Today is the day to prove yourselves." She addressed them. In the blink of an eye, they were presentable with arms. "It's time to go." Deryn said.

Followed by Laoer and the rest of the young men, Deryn aimed the gun at the guards. The guards didn't know what to do because Janika had allowed Deryn to pass before. There was a small squabble. The idea was to distract the guards so that Deryn could slip pass. That's exactly what happened.

The blasts from the bullets pierced through the sound waves. Deryn wished she was at liberty to cover her ears. She pulled the goggles over her eyes and cocked the Spandau gun. Nobody was around the corner. Good.

Nobody was in the hall, either. Deryn tried to sift through her memory and recall the twists and turns needed to make the route Janika had made. Or, Deryn could just follow the sound of the screaming. It was Janika's screaming. In a near hall. In fact, there was a lot of clamor. Deryn turned around at the corner.

What a sight! Janika and Lilit were having a tussle. Eddie Malone was rustling with two of Deryn's crew members. The rest of the crew members were trying to prevent being rounded up by the guards. They got by on sheer luck. All they had was agility on their side. Shots were being fired. All was not well. Nobody was dead. Yet.

Deryn creeped past. Hopefully, nobody would jump at her. Was the dungeon near? There was Bovril in the shadows. He was waiting for Eddie to follow him, but Deryn sufficed for the moment. Deryn followed the loris to a dark door in a windowless hallway.

The smell was absolutely dreadful. Deryn couldn't find the courage to speak. She took the letter from Bovril's mouth and immediately recognized the Pope's seal. "Is Alek on the other side of that door?" She whispered to herself as she folded the letter into her pocket for safekeeping. She couldn't risk such an important document getting lost in vain or carelessly dropped somewhere.

Bovril snuck under the door. He crawled up to sleeping Alek and nudged his cheek. "Is Alek on the other side of that door?" Bovril asked.

Volger stood nearby the door, as the person on the other side jiggled the handle uselessly. Alek sat up. "What are you talking about, Bovril?" The boy asked in a haze. He rubbed his eyes.

Suddenly, a bullet dented the door. And another and another.

"Only bullets fashioned from the London Zoo can do _that_, I reckon." Alek cautiously neared the door.

"You are remembering correctly." Volger turned toward the boy with this inspiring message of confidence.

"Deryn." They said in unison.

"But how?" Alek questioned.

Volger shrugged. "Couldn't keep away from you, I guess."

Alek looked down.

From outside, Deryn could hear only a soft muffle of voices. "Alek? Are you in there?" She asked. There was no response.

Footsteps were approaching rapidly. Empress Janika was barefooted and rugged, and followed by several guards holding hostage the members of Deryn's crew. Eddie Malone looked like he'd been roughed up too, as did everyone. Eddie stood right beside Janika. All Janika had to do was point, and guards disarmed Deryn and dragged her away from the door kicking and biting.

Before she could even coil away in protest, her wrists were bound with some sort of unpleasant metal. The wrists of her crewmembers were bound with it. The stiff brass kept prisoners from moving. If Deryn moved, even an inch, the unyielding brass would burrow deeper into her skin.

"Take them to the North dungeon! I want these intruders out of my presence!" Janika commanded.

The guards edged the ruffians forward. They only advanced a few mere steps, before, "Wait, wait a minute! I want to know what in blazes is behind that door that's so important! And where's Prince Aleksander?" Eddie requested.

Other men began to gather. They all wore fancy-hide trench coats and they were armed with matching Clanker guns. Their boots were tall, black and shiny, and their faces were sullen and somber. One was to assume they were Empress Janika's royal cabinet members.

Through bits of her hair that drooped over her face, Deryn could see her entire mock crew all defeated. They had risked their lives for her and her whim. How barking ridiculous of her that she could think that a handful of kids could go up against Janika?

"Yes, Aleksander _is_ the rightful heir." Eddie Malone declared to the cabinet members.

This was where Janika told a guard to unlock the dungeon door, revealing scrawny-bodied and pale-faced Alek and Volger, who studied their surroundings before taking a step out, and a step towards freedom.

Eddie Malone pointed to Alek. "There's the boy! And he's got that wretched little creature that was carrying the Pope's letter in its mouth! I know, because the creature found me and placed the letter in front of me. Naturally, I took a go at it. I read it through and through. It's got the Pope's seal on it, mind you! The creature refused to leave until not only had I read the letter, but given it back. The creature then repeated the message about Alek being the ruler, and kept repeating it in a muffled tone even with the paper in its mouth."

Alek pulled Bovril out of his pocket. The cabinet men each reacted in their own ways. There must have been about three dozen of the blokes—they outnumbered the amount of guards in the room.

"_Eddie Malone, Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg wishes to speak to you about the secrets of the Empire. The future depends on you. Empress Janika is a dummkopf fraud. She threw me in the dungeon. End message."_ Bovril said.

"That's-that's exactly what it told me!" Eddie confessed, a striking tone of fear quivering in his throat.

Scattered reactions infected the entire room.

"I've got—" Deryn tried to get everyone's attention. Nobody was listening over all the clamoring and bickering.

"He's just a common boy! He's so obviously lying!" Janika spat her words across the room.

"The letter had the Pope's seal! I saw it! I swear it!" Eddie barked. "Who are you to say it isn't true? I've known Alek long before _you_ had any claim on the throne whatsoever!" Eddie tried to push through everybody to get to the dungeon door. The guards stepped in front so he could not even get close.

"HEEEEYY!" Deryn bellowed through her throat. Everyone silenced. "I happen to have the letter _on me_. I'll need to be released in order to get it, if you don't mind."

"It's a trick!" Janika squawked.

Deryn stared at her. "_Yes, that's right. Because one seventeen-year-old lass is going to take down the lot of you in one fell swoop?_" Deryn said sarcastically.

One of the cabinet members, a fat man with grey hairs, waved his hand signaling to the guard to release the binds he had put around Deryn's little wrists.  
>Deryn gasped at being freed from the brass binds that dug deep into her skin. They left marks. She reached inside her pocket, slowly, and unfolded the letter. She handed it to the man with grey hairs. There was a standstill for the portion of time needed for the man to read the letter beginning to end.<p>

The man turned toward Alek and approached him. "This boy," The man sighed, suspense was building in the room, Deryn was very tense, "Prince Aleksander of Hohenberg, is decreed as the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Princess Sophie. Franz Ferdinand, being the nephew of the Late Emperor, was to be his heir until he got himself a left-handed marriage, declaring that Alek could inherit nothing. But seeing as that his blood has been made royal by the Pope, he is therefore decreed as the sole heir to the throne, and thus, Emperor of Austria-Hungary."

Deryn felt like letting out a small cheer for justice's sake. Lilit smiled. Laoer took a relieved sigh. Crew morale was up, as up came the level of respect they had for Captain Sharp.

"Maybe we'll actually make it out alive." Laoer whispered to Lilit.

Alek couldn't decide what emotion to display right now. So, he looked at Volger. Per the usual, Volger's face was expressionless, but he allowed a certain taint of happiness to show through in his eyes. In turn, Alek revealed the same spark.

"It's a _lie_!" Janika cried.

The grey-haired man approached Janika with a certain displeasurable attitude. "Whether you choose to step down as Empress or are kicked out, either way the boy's more royal than you will ever be. I don't know _how_ you're related to the Hapsburgs, but it doesn't matter now because we've got this."

Another cabinet member stepped in, "We thought Franz's son's life was lost in the Alps."

"If you must taunt me so, then I'll confess it. I was adopted by the late Emperor Franz-Joseph's adopted child." Janika said. "My grandfather adopted Luco, my father, and sent him away to a poor village to be raised only to be used if there was no other heir. My father adopted me when he was twenty. He told me that his father had forgotten about him. I always believed it to be true. Shortly thereafter, he died, having told me of my fate. When I was old enough, I went to my grandfather and told him everything. He made no mention of Aleksander. And then my grandfather just up and died. I never really knew him that well. Although I was a quite grateful to see that by law I was the only eligible heir."

Deryn gave Janika a mock pout.

"You have no royal blood." Another cabinet member spoke.

"You're at the mercy of His Highness, Aleksander Ferdinand, who is to be crowned as soon as possible." The grey-haired man said. He bowed to Alek respectfully.

Volger followed this hint, as did the other cabinet members. So did Deryn and her crew. The cabinet men dismissed the royal guards back to their duties. Last but not least, everyone stared at Janika, waiting to see her give a proper bow to the boy.

"On the ground, Janika! You almost killed him! You should be begging him not to kill you!" the cabinet members were fed up with Janika, and now that they had no reason to obey her, they all seemed to be doing better off.

Janika pressed her nose to the ground reluctantly. "Your highness." She said bitterly.

Alek wasted no more of his attention on her. He even felt a little sorry for her actually. It was better for him to feel pity than pride.

The next hours were spent getting everything back in order and cleaned up and sorted out. Alek's coronation was to begin tomorrow at the crack of dawn since everyone was already here.

It took place in a large room. Alek was showered with complements and gifts. Alek felt out of his element now that Deryn and the others had left.

At least he still had Volger and Bovril by his side.

A golden crown was presented to Alek on a pillow the color of wet blood. Alek felt so surreal. A large lump knotted up his stomach and gave him a headache all throughout his body. He wanted to just keel over. Volger nudged him to distract him from his imaginative fear. Volger was a grown man. He could understand pressure and relate to it. It was up to Alek to figure out how to deal with it.

Before he knew it, the crown was placed on the top of his reddish-brown head of hair.

"All hail Emperor Aleksander Ferdinand!" Scattered voices cheered. Everyone bowed to him, their faces pressed against the floor.

"You shall have to choose the members of your cabinet, Your Highness." The grey-haired man said respectfully.

Alek turned toward Volger, who nodded at him. "You will be my advisor. That is, if you accept the position of staying with me and serving for me my entire life. You have already provided for me loyalty beyond that I can imagine. You're the only living person who's known me all my life."

"I live to serve you, young master." Volger bowed.

A smile appeared on the corners of Alek's soft cheeks. "As for my cabinet, I think it'd be easier if I kept the same men that Janika had."

"Yes, Your Highness. And thank you." The grey-haired man said gracefully.

Alek wished he had Deryn at his side to be his advisor and companion. He had armies at his disposal and surely he could spare a ship for her if only she would come. She left so rashly that it nearly hurt his feelings. He didn't even get the chance to properly thank her. Now that he was Emperor, he was obliged to stay within the castle for the next few months. His only hope was if she would return to him. The best he could do right now was write to her.

Letter upon letter piled up on his desk. After a week's time of writing them, he decided to send them all at once. Among those letters was an invitation to a party.

The formal after party for the coronation would be combined with Alek's birthday, which was eleven days from now. Before Alek and Volger could get to partying, there was much they had to do. Alek now had the power to tear down all of Janika's ridiculous laws and bylaws as a statement of faithfulness to the citizens of this country. It was almost an instantaneous reaction that the general public took a liking to him. Alek was a likeable person, regardless of his birthright. He was pure of heart and had much to learn from those wiser than him. In time, he resumed fencing lessons from Volger.

Through the local paper, Alek assured the citizens that the self-absorbed tyrant Janika could harm them no more. She was a cheater in her reign from beginning to end.

Janika had been sent to a commoner's village Switzerland where she would be banned from the country. Permanently.

Eddie Malone was sure to get the whole story and _get it right_ this time. Alek thanked Deryn with a big hug at his coronation. He said that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't even be alive right now.

Deryn found herself on a zeppelin back to the London Zoological Society, a place where Dr. Barlow had offered her a job to go to a special Aerology school that accepted young middies and spit out captains. Deryn was sorely tempted.

The school was Austine Aerology University and it was located in a small town just outside of London. It was huge and famous. Hundreds of professors taught there. Thousands of students attended. Deryn had fancied herself one of the students ever since she was a wee lass.

Dr. Barlow even put in a good word for her. Deryn had been working in the Zoological Society building far too long.

She was a great worker and always would be, but she'd make an even better captain. Deryn's head was in the clouds all too often, but her very heart beat for Alek.

One day, she was standing before the castle gates once more. She, Lilit, Laoer and Dr. Barlow had been invited to the Emperor's Birthday Party slash Coronation party. It was a once-in-a-lifetime advent. For the first time in a long time, Deryn wore a formal Midshipman's uniform.

The guards had smiles on their faces and they let her pass without question. This time, the castle was occupied with people. Lots and lots of strange people. Deryn didn't know most of them. She recognized Eddie Malone. All of these people were affiliates of Alek. Deryn could scarcely imagine how one young boy could claim to know all these people. Several were from different countries, mostly Clanker in affiliation.

_Emperor_ Alek.

He'd been working on this wild system he and his advisor—Volger—had created together. Some of the greatest minds of the day sat here in these very halls, conjuring up ideas for what would better the empire of Austria-Hungary.

In spare time, Alek had been pursuing reading and other studies of his own. He refined his Latin reading skill and took it upon himself to educate himself in the Austria-Hungarian recent history for which he had been absent. Alek studied war and diplomacy, both useful to learn when and if he ever found himself in the heat of the battle once again. Some small part of him longed for the thrill, the adventure and the blood rushing fiercely through his veins as obligations were thrust upon him.

Here in the stone castle where he made his regal dwelling, he had nothing to fear. He almost _wished_ to fear again.

Alek's youthful friends were present at the party too, of course. He'd been travelling abroad and making lots of friends. Alek was careful to heed Volger's advice about how _not_ to make enemies.

Deryn seemed to walk right past all the dancing and the festivities. Everyone was dressed up fancy—friends of Alek, politicians, wealthy people, and reporters alike seemed to be enjoying themselves on the first floor of the castle.

The Emperor's eighteenth birthday was a very special date. It was the date he could gain full legal power. He'd invited Deryn, Lilit, Laoer and Dr. Barlow to the party.

Dr. Barlow and Volger seemed to be enjoying their little chat downstairs. The lady boffin had also brought along Tazza as her travelling companion. Volger was starting to warm up to Tazza a wee bit.

Lilit and Laoer danced together. Afterwards, they mingled with the wealthy citizens of Austria-Hungary. Naturally, Eddie Malone was skulking around for a gossip story.

Deryn was on a course for Alek's private quarters. She knocked, knowing he would be there. She gave the door a little nudge. It opened just a squick. That's all that was needed to prove that he was in there. He was watching the city hustle and bustle about through the giant window about twenty feet tall. The golden summer shine drifted in. Deryn opened the door the rest of the way.

"Hi, Deryn." Alek didn't even have to turn around. He'd recognize that high-pitched Scottish accent anywhere.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Anybody else would have waited for me to come to the door and open it myself."

"Oh. Sorry." She remembered to bow, even though he couldn't see her. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I just thought I might drop by. I got your letter. And no, I'm not going to the Aerology school. At least, not just yet. I haven't really found the place I belong in. I've been feeling a bit fenced in. Of course, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you? Ever since you left, my life's been a squick unbalanced."

"A squick." Bovril's little feet pattered into the room.

"Bovril!" Deryn was excited to see the loris. She picked him up and patted his fur. She set him on the big desk, which was an excuse to step nearer to Alek. "Alek?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to tell you…something that's been on my noggin for the past year." Deryn took a deep breath. "I'm not asking anything of you. Just that you listen. Can you do that?"

Alek nodded just as a cool breeze swept through the city and into the room.

"We've gone on a lot of adventures, you and I. Our lives have become inter-woven in so many places. I've saved your life, and you saved mine." She started to smile. "And, you're still as daft as the day I met you." She said with a chuckle.

Alek turned around suddenly.

"Your highness." She bowed quickly. "And…I think I'm in love with you, blast it! I'm not asking to be Empress or anything, I just wanted to tell you…before I let it slip my mind yet another time I had the chance to tell you."

"Empress. There's a thought." Alek said.

"What? You've got to be barking mad to think I'd make a proper _Empress_."

"Barking mad? Barking madly in love with you's more like it." Alek smiled.

Deryn's cheeks turned red as crimson and she blinked three times to keep the tears from watering down her eyes.

"_Madly_." Bovril said with a chuckle.

Before Deryn realized it, he was walking closer to her. He took her hand and urged her towards the window so that she could see what he saw. "_Wow_. And to think, it's all _yours_."

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"I think, well, I, I don't think I could build a proper empire, that is, if it wasn't _our_ empire." He leaned over and they shared many kisses just as the sun was setting.

**~Fin~**


End file.
